Broken leg in the UK

[rick.rgc]

I thougtht I would pass this on to you all. A friend came from OZ to the UK and relied on his Platinum Amex health insurance. Well he broke a leg then once in a NHS was forgotten by Amex and was in a mixed ward for 5 days. On the last day theoffered him a shower, only to find once in there, there was no soap and after they looked for it, they had to admit they had none. This saysa lot about the UK HS and Amex Platinum. Be very careful and read the small print

 

[JohnK]

I feel sorry for your friend but this is the same old story.

I don't understand why people rely on complimentary travel insurance from credit cards and do not purchase comprehensive travel insurance. Spend thousands, or even tens of thousands, on travel and accommodation and then try to save $350 on an annual travel insurance policy. Why?

I have heard way too many stories of people having issues with complimentary travel insurance offered by credit cards....

 

[ColinP]

I suspect that most insurers would do the same.

Most policies have a clause that gives them an out if you are entitled to claim by any other means. In this instance the insured was covered by the reciprocal health care agreement between UK / Aus.

I think this story says much more about the NHS than it does about the Amex insurance.

 

[creditcardman]

Well it's like insurance in all cases, they don't exist to make payouts they exist to make a profit That's why I hate insurance companies it's such a conflicting purpose, I mean they claim they are there to help but why so many rules?

The day someone makes a truely flexible (no small print) non for profit insurance company will be the day that they become truely wealthy.

 

[simongr]

I am currently relying on Amex Platinum insurance as it is pretty comprehensive and covers everything I need.

The health care system in the UK is very different from here - emergency treatment is not generally covered in private hospitals.

I am probably safe to critique the health care system in the UK here without getting flamed like I did on FT...

Basically because of the NHS being a "free for all" that means massive strain on the system and restricted funds so the quality of infrastructure is awful. The gap between private and public is much more significant than here. I had some back trouble in the UK many years ago. Went to my local public hospital, was given some pain meds and left to walk out of the hospital and find a cab home. Paint was crumbling off the walls and the whole place was disgusting. Went to the doctor and got referred to a private hospital (I had insurance) and went to that hospital - in grounds that would embarrass the managers of Centennial Park in Sydney. An amazing place - the gulf between "rich and poor" was just cavernous...

i really do not think this is an Amex issue but an NHS issue.